Where does “all-female” come from?
all-female (English) comes from English female, from Middle English female, from Middle English femelle, from Old French femelle, from Medieval Latin femella, from Latin femella, from Latin -lus, from Proto-Italic -elos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
all-female (English): Involving only women and girls
Definitions
- Involving only women and girls
Ancestry of “all-female”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | female | Belonging to the sex which typically produces... |
| 2 | Middle English | female | — |
| 3 | Middle English | femelle | — |
| 4 | Old French | femelle | female |
| 5 | Medieval Latin | femella | a female; girl, young woman; vocative singular of... |
| 6 | Latin | femella | girl, young woman; vocative singular of femella;... |
| 7 | Latin | -lus | Alternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |